Premium
Adolescent work patterns and work‐related injury incidence in rural Minnesota
Author(s) -
Parker David L.,
Merchant Deborah,
Munshi Kaizad
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10094
Subject(s) - medicine , work (physics) , occupational safety and health , context (archaeology) , suicide prevention , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , incidence (geometry) , poison control , rural area , gerontology , environmental health , medical education , demography , geography , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , archaeology , optics , pathology , sociology
Background Although there have been many studies on working youth in the United States, we have noted none which have provided a broad picture of adolescent work practices in a rural community. Methods Six high schools in rural Minnesota were evaluated for adolescent work practices. Schools ranged in size from 173 to 525 students in grades 9 through 12. A 20 page self‐administered survey examining work practices was administered to students. Results A total of 2,250 students completed the survey, representing 92% of the student body. Twenty‐eight percent of students lived on a farm. Approximately 45% of the male students and slightly more than 21% of the females were involved in farm work. Only 2.6% of students were injured during this 8‐month time period in farm‐related activities, and 5.1% were injured doing non‐farm work. Many students reported working long hours. Conclusions Work represents a serious problem for rural youth. These data are significant in the context of national policy discussion concerning the failure of the Fair Labor Standards Act to regulate the agricultural environment. Am. J. Ind. Med. 42:134–141, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.